‘Conspiracy’: Booked for mobile in jail, former Rajasthan MLA threatens hunger strike

Former Rajasthan MLA Baljeet Yadav, currently held in Jaipur Central Jail for his involvement in a scam costing over Rs 3.72 crore, has threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike. The arrest followed the alleged discovery of a mobile phone in the jail barracks. Baljeet contends that the phone was found abandoned in a public toilet and claims there is no evidence linking him to the alleged recovery.

He has requested an impartial investigation into a FIR registered against him on September 9, alleging that the case is politically motivated. Baljeet maintains that he was in the jail hospital during the time specified in the FIR and has requested that CCTV footage from the relevant period be preserved and examined as part of the investigation.

The former MLA alleges that the case against him is politically motivated and a result of pressure or conspiracy. The jail authorities, however, assert that the FIR is composed of factual statements and that an investigation will be conducted by the police. Baljeet is serving his sentence in connection with the alleged scam involving the misuse of the Rashtriya Janata Party Local Area Development Fund to purchase sports equipment for government schools at inflated prices.